Value of Love
by Drop And Die
Summary: JxA songfic.  Jeremie and Aelita love each other but neither believes the other returns the feeling. Perhaps one of them will take the step to say how they feel... R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer - Code Lyoko and the song In Your Eyes by DJ Foggy belong to their respective owners. I do not own either of them.**

A yawn rips through Jeremie's hand and Aelita sighs. "You really need to sleep Jeremie. It's almost three in the morning for you." the pink haired girl speaks with concern. "I appreciate everything my friends do for me more than I can say; especially the time you spend talking to me. But you're wearing yourself ragged with the materialization program." Aelita stops before she could blurt out "And I can't lose you." Jeremie rubs his eyes and looks back at the softly glowing computer screen containing her.

Some of his tiredness seems to leak away as he looks into Aelita's virtual eyes. "Well if you insist. I really need to get the materialization program done; for you to be here is all I want." Aelita's answering smile is tinged with sadness and she looks down at the tower floor under her feet. "What's wrong Aelita?" Jeremie murmurs. She looks back up in shock at how easily Jeremie senses her varying emotions. _Too bad he hasn't noticed the only one that matters_.

Her inner turmoil almost masks the fact that Jeremie was waiting patiently for an answer. "Oh nothing. Just going to miss talking to you for a while as usual. Before you reply that does not allow you to stay up. Get to bed." she commands before grinning at the twinkle in his eyes. Jeremie bows in the chair to his princess and chuckles.

"I hear and obey." he retorts. Jeremie initiates their usual ritual by placing his hand on the monitor. Aelita puts her hand on his and imagines how his skin would feel against hers when she finally arrives on Earth. The human hand, every cell a testament to life, reaches for the virtual hand of lifeless code. Aelita shakes her head at her depression but knows in her heart that her existence is a mere mockery of the life Jeremie exudes continuously. To her eyes a mere centimeter of glass separates them but in reality an entire ocean divides Aelita from her friends.

_In your eyes I see the sun shine  
It's so bright that I can't see  
And this love is so much stronger  
Than everything that I've seen before  
_

"Good night Jeremie." Aelita whispers past the lump in her throat. His sapphire eyes draw her in magnetically as always. He blinks and she tears her gaze from his face as he replies.

"Good night Aelita. See you in the morning." His hand falls off the monitor as Jeremie stands up from the creaking chair and flops onto the bed with a crashing sound. Aelita watches him roll over in his bed until sleep claims him. Unbeknownst to Jeremie, she had her own ritual of gazing at him while he slept. She sat cross legged in the tower with her mind lost in thoughts of her personal pain and ever-present hope.

An hour passes without change; Aelita listens to the sound of a world brimming with life. The roaring of distant cars, the rustling of air through treetops, and the rhythmic beat of Jeremie's breathing filter into Aelita's ears as a constant reminder of the differences between her and humanity. Unable to bear the pain, the pink haired girl severs the connection with the computer and gazes at the flickering walls of the tower once more.

A wistful smile inches across Aelita's face. How ironic the one thing she wants most in the world also causes her agony. Life is a dual-edged sword; ready to slice through her spirit and despair alike. Earth beckons to her constantly. The Internet may show pictures of the Earth's beauty but nothing compares to experiencing it with hands, feet, and touch.

_In your eyes  
I see flowers and trees  
In your eyes  
I see beautiful things I can't believe  
'Cause in your eyes, I see  
The love light shined on my  
In your eyes, in your eyes, in your eyes_

She just had to hold on a little bit longer. Soon Jeremie would have the materialization program ready and the long time entombed on Lyoko would end. Her emerald eyes brighten at the prospect of finally being able to truly feel Jeremie's hand. Worry replaces the smile with a frown as X.A.N.A. flickers across Aelita's thoughts. Every battle with the evil A.I. lately put her into a state of near-panic. Not for herself; she always knew dying in the fights was a real possibility.

Aelita stands up and exits the tower into the Ice Sector. Even if nothing really existed here this sector still remained her favorite. The gleaming ice contrasts with the deep blue water. Of course the blue landscape reminds Aelita of a certain pair of eyes. The battles with their mortal enemy were becoming far more common. Her human friends are becoming weaker and more sluggish, especially Jeremie.

She dips a hand in the programming that passes for water in this forsaken place. Light glimmers between her fingers while she feels nothing. What would she do if she lost the gang that supports her? Yumi, Odd, and Ulrich weren't irreplaceable to her. Aelita's heart would break at the loss of any one of them but only one death held the possibility of irrevocably shattering her forevermore. She chuckles without mirth. _Then again, if any of my friends die the rest of them and I follow in short order._

_As if blue skies bring some rain  
I feel the blood rush in my veins  
I never want to see you cry  
Recently you said good night  
Did not believe it for a while  
But you really meant good bye_

Shaking her head, Aelita looks up at a single Block that was sneaking up on her. Good thing that the monsters were barely intelligent when X.A.N.A. didn't focus on Lyoko. She calmly walks up through the laser fire and kicks the errant Block into the Digital Sea. A small amount of her depression fades away into the excitement of actually doing something. A glimmer of her usual enthusiastic self stands on the precipice of the Digital Sea.

Too often she watched helplessly while her friends fought off the threat. Their lives were in constant danger thanks to her. No matter how many times X.A.N.A. was thwarted; it only took one victory for him. They were winning the war but couldn't afford to lose a single battle. A sense of dread fills Aelita as her imagination runs wild with thoughts of her enemy's vengeance. _It's not enough for him to win. He will punish me in the worst way possible._

The virtual being heads back over the slick ice back to the tower. The little diversion had cheered her up but the urge to be there when Jeremie wakes up forces her back to her sanctuary. She laughs at her hopeless situation with Jeremie; seeing as she couldn't stay away from the tower from a fear of missing his face a second longer than she has to. Never in her wildest dreams had she thought that love would affect a mere program such as her. _Wait, dreams? I don't sleep._ _  
_

_In your eyes I see the sun shine  
It's so bright that I can't see  
And this love is so much stronger  
Than everything that I've seen before  
_

Aelita smirks at her tendency to absorb human traits without trying as the tower wall engulfs her. As if to prove her smile correct, she absentmindedly runs a hand through her hair before sitting once more in front of the computer interface. Jeremie still slumbers under the covers; daytime wasn't for another couple hours. Aelita smiles at the boy who defined her existence before closing the connection once more. _Connection? We already are always connected in our minds._

Her thoughts lift out of her black mood and turn to the sapphire gleam of happy remembrances. Jeremie would chat with her 24/7 if she didn't force him to sleep. And eat. And go to classes that he didn't need to pay attention in. A question surfaces in her mind as she ponders the sheer amount of time he was willing to spend with her. _Why does he want to spend so much time with me?_ _Could it be he feels something for me…?_

Aelita shakes her head in derision at her vain hope. No way Jeremie likes a mere program such as her. True, he valued her conversation and companionship but nothing more. A human deserves to fall in love with another human; not an advanced bit of code. Still…hope flutters in her chest as her logical mind analyzes the data that points to something more than friendship between her and Jeremie. She ruthlessly quashes the emotion that she doesn't deserve to have. Love would have to be her only solace yet also her only source of distress.

_As if blue skies bring some rain  
I feel the blood rush in my veins  
I never want to see you cry  
Recently you said good night  
Did not believe it for a while  
But you really meant good bye  
_

The raining code on the side of the tower wall entrances Aelita. The numbers rapidly flicker as Aelita considers what love truly means to her. Humanity seems to always be in pursuit of love yet no one knows what it is. Perhaps the emotion is unique in every case. Finally a smile of actual happiness grows on the elfin girl's face. If love is always unique then hers could actually exist. Aelita even had a chance to be human someday if X.A.N.A. didn't kill her first.

Contentment wells up in her body as Jeremie's face slowly solidifies in her mind. _My life isn't all bad. I at least have someone to care about more than myself._ Minutes trickle by with agonizing slowness as Aelita waits in silence. Time had no meaning to her during these periods of stasis. In the twilight area when Jeremie was sleeping or at school Aelita lost herself in memory. Not the recollections of battle or time on Lyoko but rather the small details that spiced her existence. Things such as the laughter at Odd's jokes or the meaningless conversations with Jeremie became her world until Jeremie intrudes once more.

_In your eyes I see the sun shine  
It's so bright that I can't see  
And this love is so much stronger  
Than everything that I've seen before_

Depression flees Aelita in the face of the pure love that fills her. She closes her eyes and savors the feeling. Putting her hands out in front of her, she vows to feel Jeremie with these limbs one day. She would wait as long as it took for Jeremie to finish the program without harming himself in the process. Her ardent desire to visit Earth would be meaningless if she had the program complete at the cost of his health. Finally morning arrives and she stares at the object of her love. "Good morning Jeremie."

_In your eyes  
I see flowers and trees  
In your eyes  
I see beautiful things I can't believe  
'Cause in your eyes, I see  
The love light shined on my  
In your eyes, in your eyes, in your eyes_


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer - Code Lyoko and the lyrics to Castles in the Sky by Dj Satomi belong to their respective owners. I own neither.**

Jeremie looks at his watch. "Oh shoot! Class starts in five minutes. Gotta go Aelita." She chuckles to herself before enduring the usual wave of sadness at his impending absence.

"You need to stop getting easily distracted by our conversations." Aelita replies while Jeremie hurriedly throws his stuff in a backpack and rushes back to the chair to save his latest draft of the materialization program. A clattering sound emanates from the keyboard as Jeremie quickly types a last bit of code.

"Sorry. You do that to me. Talk to ya when I get back!" Jeremie shouts while throwing himself out the door. His euphoria at talking with Aelita fades into worry as he recalls the previous night. A glance at his watch breaks his concern and he starts running for Mrs. Hertz's class. The wind ruffles his blonde hair as a few other students stare at the school nerd actually running. He slips into class and onto his usual chair just as the bell rings and Mrs. Hertz starts the lesson.

_There's a place in my mind  
No one knows where it hides  
And my fantasy is flying  
Its a castle in the sky  
_

The clattering of chalk on the blackboard accompanies the teacher's explanation but Jeremie doesn't notice a word of it. His mind was lost in one of the two obsessions that gripped him over the last year. This time it wasn't the materialization program. Rather the focus of his mind was the being his program aimed to free from Lyoko. Her sweet face and beautiful eyes swam in his mind's eye. The feeling of happiness that rises in him at thoughts of Aelita changes into troubled concern at her behavior last night.

_She was so strange. Aelita tried to hide it but I know she felt deep pain. But why?_ Jeremie ponders the question but his mind refuses to cooperate with the answer. He sighs and traces the perfectly known lines of her face on the blank notebook in front of him. A soft chuckle escapes his lips at the typical crush behavior he reveals with the drawing. Then again his feelings for her went way beyond a crush.

_Ha! Why would she want you? _a snide voice whispers in the back of his head. Jeremie can't help but agree. He rubs a hand through his hair and stares at the pencil between his fingers. He is best known for his extreme shyness and the position of school nerd. Without Ulrich, Yumi, and Odd he probably would have no friends within Kadic Academy. A wry smile reappears on his face at the thought of who exactly he fell in love with. Aelita technically exists as a program; to him she is far more than that.

_It's a world of our past  
Where the legend still lasts  
And the king wears the crown  
But the magic spell is law _

Fiddling with the eraser now, Jeremie dreams about her touch. She has never felt anything; he couldn't stop imagining how the first sensation of her warm face against his hand would feel. Aelita relied on him for her continued safety against X.A.N.A. He could not fail her. The love within Jeremie bound him to her with chains stronger than diamond and more numerous then the oxygen molecules in the classroom. Every time he put on those headphones to send his friends into danger he did it for her. The gratitude and respect Jeremie feels for Ulrich, Odd, and Yumi could never be expressed in words. _I'm pretty sure they already know how much I appreciate what they do._

At first his fight against X.A.N.A. was for the cause of saving humanity. That reason still existed within him now but a far more important one eclipses it. The sole human inhabitant of Lyoko morphed from his best friend to something far more. Jeremie didn't know exactly when. _Perhaps it's something as corny as love at first sight. _The pain of unrequited love flares within him for the countless time. Such is the curse of love that it fills Jeremie with pure bliss yet digs its razor sharp claws into his constantly bleeding heart.

_Take your sword and your shield  
There's a battle on the field  
You're a knight and you're right  
So with dragons now you'll fight  
_

His love is pure but unworthy. Aelita's sweet innocence deserves something more than his avoidance of life. For in truth, that's what his entire existence revolves around. The computer and internet allow him to shirk from the true responsibilities of life and flee into a world where nothing can touch him. Jeremie turns to look out the window at the waving trees and grey clouds passing across the sun. _That glass separates me from the world but it's unnecessary. My own mind already does that. _

Of course, his flaw led to his greatest joy so he couldn't reject the protective shell around him utterly. Without the shyness and dependence on a virtual world Aelita wouldn't have lifted up his life at all. Without the fear and cowardice the world wouldn't be in constant danger from X.A.N.A. A good and evil side seemed to balance within him. _That balance resides in us all. Am I the crusader fighting for justice or the craven warrior backstabbing an ally?_

Jeremie shakes his head and flinches from the window. He didn't want to stare at the world that entranced yet repulsed him. The only thing he wishes to stare at is her face. Even if he can never have her to his own those emerald eyes always remove his pain for a little while. Hours of never-ending conversations with Aelita fill his nights while mindless tedium in class becomes his days.

_And my fancy is flying  
It's a castle in the sky  
Or there's nothing out there  
These are castles in the air  
_

He frowns at the monumental task his friends undergo every day without anyone noticing. Sleep avoids him now; the fear and dread too much to resist. Jeremie could feel himself slowly but surely falling apart. Worry for his friends and Aelita saps the time for rest and X.A.N.A. surely knew how perilously fragile his mortal enemy was. Too many close calls and saves in the nick of time. Aelita brought up the topic of his sleeping more and more often now; she knew him too well for his own good.

Jeremie groans and rubs his head. A dull throbbing sprung up without warning for the seventh time in seven days. His mental fortitude surprised him over the year of war but his physical health swiftly deteriorated. _When was the last time I had more than 5 hours of sleep in a night? Couple months?_ He drove himself too hard but Aelita was well worth the risk. The sooner she steps across Earth the sooner he could remove her from X.A.N.A.'s clutches.

_It won't do to have her on Earth and you in the hospital or worse you know._ another voice pipes up. Jeremie shakes his head at the mental reply. If the price of materializing Aelita onto Earth was his sanity or life, he'd gladly pay it. Nothing came remotely close in his priorities. Love definitely drove people to do things they'd normally never do. Jeremie stares at the words on the blackboard without reading them.

Jeremie snaps his hand into a fist and nearly pounds the table. He stops just short of gathering attention from the whole class and forces his hand back into a resting position. Hate springs up in him; hate directed at himself. No matter how much he worked on the program he could never be happy with it until it ran smoothly. Jeremie knew his behavior would scare a health professional if the doctor found out but another choice didn't exist. Aelita means too much.

_Fairytales live in me  
Fables coming from my memory  
Fantasy is not a crime  
Find your castle in the sky  
_

Her trapped existence in continuous peril nattered at his mind. He couldn't abandon her; to stop his efforts would tear his soul apart. Jeremie's virtual life led to the bright point of his existence but yet he couldn't hold her. He couldn't touch her. He couldn't look into her eyes and say how he feels. All he has is the fantasy; the fable that one day he will feel the palm of her hand instead of the cool glass of the monitor.

An unusual thought bursts into his mind and Jeremie freezes still for a second. _What if her pain is my pain? What if she longs to feel my hand as I long to feel hers?_ An idea breaks through the self-hatred and denial. Jeremie's eyes brighten for the first time in months outside of a conversation with Aelita. Odd's roving gaze alights upon Jeremie and he gasps. His friend actually had a true smile on his face outside of a chat with Aelita.

Jeremie is thunderstruck by the simple yet profound idea his twisted train of thought brought him to. He always loved Aelita but maybe there was something from her side more than friendship. She put up with his bumbling conversations. She never grew bored when he talked. She somehow found hours upon hours of discussion with him fascinating. _Then again, she's a person stuck in a virtual area with no real experience of the Earth. Of course she finds it fascinating._ the familiar and hated voice replies.

_You've got the key  
Of the kingdom of the clouds  
Open the door  
Leaving back your doubts  
_

Instead of giving into the doubt Jeremie sharpens his gaze on the wall. Perhaps Aelita did like him. Improbable as the idea felt to his mind, maybe she even loves him. Nothing could be lost and much stood to be gained by a simple question. At the worst Jeremie would be in his current position; love wrenching at his heart without any release. The ever-present headache fades into nothingness.

Jeremie smirks at how much his life resembles a fairy tale now. He took the role of a knight fighting to save and woo the princess in distress. A few minor points such as no guarantee he would win or even get the girl made it slightly different than all those stories in Disney movies. If luck blesses him Jeremie could find the stereotypical fairy tale ending. 

_You've got the power  
To live another childhood  
So ride the wind  
That leads you to the moon 'cause_

The ever-present feeling of hope within Jeremie undergoes a subtle transformation. The emotion lost all tinges of despair and burst brightly in him. He looks around the chemistry class that he didn't see before now with these eyes. Everything had been so dark even in the sunlight. Now clarity met his eyes and he laughs with delight. The class looks towards him with strange looks on their faces.

How euphoric it was to finally reach a decision. A year of uncertainty and fear of change swept away in an instant. Jeremie thrusts his unopened book into his backpack. In the back of his mind he knew this feeling of utter love and bliss could crash into a hole of despair from which he might never return. Anything was possible. Including spilling out his feelings to Aelita and ending the streak of shyness and avoidance in him. Without a word Jeremie rushes out the door and towards the girl that meant more to him than life.

_Fairytales live in me  
Fables coming from my memory  
Fantasy is not a crime  
Find your castle in the sky  
_


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer - I do not own Code Lyoko or Wherever you are (I feel love) by Laava. They belong to their respective owners.**

Aelita jolts out of her usual reverie and notices Jeremie's computer was being activated. _That's weird. He's in class now._ She accesses his monitor and pops up on the screen to see a strangely excited Jeremie. "What are you doing on here and out of class?" she asks curiously. His piercing stare would make her breathe faster if she actually needed air. Jeremie's eyes shone with something that made Aelita nervous and expectant at the same time. _Could my wish be coming true…?_ Aelita mentally slaps herself at jumping to a completely incorrect conclusion. Love addled her brains too much.

Several seconds pass without either of them speaking a word. Both lose themselves hopelessly in the other's gaze. A tinge of the old cowardice blocks Jeremie from simply blurting out the question that would either restore or destroy him. Aelita grows uncomfortable with the awkward silence and speaks up. "Well? Are you going to respond or sit there like a stone?"

Jeremie shakes his head to remove the fog that Aelita slowly put him in. He chuckles to himself at how even now she stripped his ability to think coherently. Removing his glass to clean them, Jeremie stalls for something to say that would lead into the true question he wanted to ask. Aelita rolls her eyes at his obvious bid for more time. _Wonder what has him so shaken?_

_When I feel blue_

_I think of you_

_Cause you're true_

_Wherever you are_

_Near or far_

_You still are my shining star.  
_

The nervous boy slips his clean glasses back onto his face and gasps as the fuzzy oval of Aelita's face snaps back into crystal clarity. Her beauty lurks underneath the surface of her virtual code and shines forth from the pinkette's deep emerald eyes. Aelita smirks at his obvious enchantment with her. _In that case he actually likes me._ Hope and love spiral together through her like a raging hurricane that leaves her whole. She closes her eyes and wonders why she had never noticed the way he stared at her before.

"Aelita I…wanted to thank you profusely for the last year." Jeremie opens lamely and mentally flinches at his statement. _Might as well continue with this thread; it will lead where I want it to go._ "No matter the cost of saving you the rewards have been far worth it. I… appreciate the time you spend with me; for being the one I can tell anything." _Except that teensy little fact of love you've been hiding_. the voice replies.

_Sometimes it's mad_

_Things get bad_

_And I'm sad_

_Wherever you are_

_There is light_

_By my side_

_I feel alright._

A sincere grin grows on Aelita's face at Jeremie's words. In his bumbling way Jeremie was trying to say something important to her. For now she will just follow the train of thought wherever it leads. "You shouldn't be thanking me. I haven't done anything for you. On the contrary I thank you for everything. My life, sanity, and happiness wouldn't exist without you." Aelita hopes her inflection on the last word of her statement would give him a little hint.

Jeremie notices Aelita's emphasis. "No Aelita." he calmly replies. "You have done more for me than anyone else I know. I started out helping you because I needed a cause to save me from my loneliness. Now the reason I fight is you." A gentle twinkle in his eyes reveals the depth of Jeremie's feelings to Aelita. Daring to hope against hope, the virtual being leans forward in the silent tower.

_Because our love is big_

_Bigger than the two of us_

_And words cannot describe_

_How I miss you so much._

"What do you mean Jeremie?" Aelita whispers. A whirlwind of butterflies flutter in her stomach as she waits breathlessly for the answer she wishes for. Jeremie roams his gaze across her face, drinking everything in before committing himself irrevocably. Doubt stabs him in a last ditch effort but Jeremie shakes it off. After a year he was sure in his feelings for her and fed up with waiting. He would commit himself to jumping off the cliff and either land on the jagged rocks of rejection or be caught in Aelita's arms. Preferably the latter.

Jeremie unleashes a steely determination and looks up into those emerald eyes that defined him. "I mean that you are the sole thing that I can't lose." Jeremie grits his teeth and forces out the truth for all to hear. Well hopefully not everyone; that'd be slightly awkward. "Aelita. I love you. I think I always have." The words hang in the air long after the sound fades from existence.

_I feel love in your arms,_

_And I feel love when I'm with you_

_I feel love in your eyes_

_Wherever you may be._

Aelita stands stunned by the happiness and joy filling her. Her foolish and improbable love had defied the odds and proved itself to exist. The other half of herself finally completes her. A part of Aelita's mind accesses the super computer and initiates a program only she could see. The tower shudders beneath her and the white aura around it glows bright pink. Lyoko glimmers with energy before Aelita touches the world.

_Hopefully this works. I've been playing with it for a year._ Aelita shudders as 95 of her 100 life points flee her body. The natural recovering ability of the tower wouldn't work for a few days on her either. If X.A.N.A. attacks soon she could be in deep trouble. Putting her worries aside, the pinkette focuses on the gift that Jeremie deserves from her. The boy frowns as Aelita gasps in pain on the monitor. "What's going on?" he asks worriedly. She opens her eyes again.

"Don't worry about it. You'll see soon enough." she replies with a reassuring smile. She initiates the program and feels her code shifting to a new location. The draining sensation annoys her but Jeremie's surprise at her plan is worth any possible discomfort. The tower walls flicker with power before light begins to gather around Aelita's form. Jeremie's mouth drops in wonder as a halo of pure blinding light envelops his love. A whooshing sound erupts as the light fades from existence. Aelita was nowhere to be seen. He falls backwards out of his chair in shock and the resulting thump masks the sound from his hallway.

_You make me high_

_I can fly_

_Touch the sky_

_Wherever you are_

_I feel free in ecstasy_

_Just you and me._

Aelita crashes to the ground outside of Jeremie's room. She stiffens in emotional pain as her mind is overrun with sensation. A few seconds pass and the instinctive panic recedes. Aelita opens her eyes and looks at the hall with wonder then glances down at her pink shirt and reddish skirt. _I'm on Earth! If only for a little while…_ She struggles to stand and leans on the doorframe for support. Aelita feels like taking in all the stimuli but that would lower her time with Jeremie.

Still relishing all the feelings of life, Aelita knocks on his door. The rich tones of the sound combined with the rippling feeling of muscles in use fill the pink haired girl with bliss. That ecstasy triples when the door opens and his face appears before her. Her eyes feast on the smooth skin and glacial eyes that she knew so well yet had never seen this way before. His arms wrap around her and she buries her head in Jeremie's chest while the tears of happiness soak his shirt.

Jeremie wonders how this happened. A day that started in depression and worry changed into the best moments of his life. His arms still could not believe they held Aelita's warmth in them. He rests his face in her sweet hair and lets the love flow through his body. Jeremie's mind fills with questions but he ruthlessly suppresses them and sways Aelita in his arms.

_You save my day_

_Pave the way_

_And you'll stay_

_Wherever you are_

_In my heart_

_From the start_

_We'll never part._

A couple minutes pass and a flicker of reason returns to Jeremie's mind. Aelita releases a yelp as Jeremie pulls her into the room and shuts the door behind them. He leads her to the bed and Aelita relaxes on her big warm pillow. Jeremie laughs at the cat on his chest and strokes her hair. "This is unbelievable Aelita. How… are you here?" Aelita giggles and grabs Jeremie's hand.

"You've been working on the materialization program and I've been working on a little surprise of my own." The girl enjoys the feeling of talking and the sound of her voice emanating into the room. "X.A.N.A. gave me the idea long ago really. If he can activate a tower so can I." Jeremie's eyes light up with understanding.

"Of course! You activated a tower on Lyoko and used it to somehow put yourself here. But I'm guessing there's a catch. Since you would have done it by now otherwise." Aelita nods and continues with her explanation.

"I basically copied X.A.N.A.'s habit of using specters to possess things. The trick was writing the program to send my code as the specter. The cost is steep; I lost almost all of my life points and I can't regenerate them for a while. The tower activation takes it out of me. I have no idea how long I have here but I'm sure it's not much more than an hour if that." Jeremie sighs in disappointment and Aelita shifts to face him. "Hey now, don't be sad. I'm here with you and that's good enough. I love you after all."

_Because our love is big_

_Bigger than the two of us_

_And words cannot describe_

_How I miss you so much._

Jeremie smiles at the truth of that statement in her eyes. "I love you princess." Minutes pass in utter bliss as the two relax in each other's arms and the knowledge that their love is finally returned. Jeremie caresses her hand and places his palm on hers while grinning into her eyes. "About time." Aelita nods her agreement and flexes her fingers around his.

Aelita presses her forehead against Jeremie's and kisses his nose. "Hey! That's not where your lips go you know." Aelita chuckles and gazes into his eyes. Jeremie's eyes widen in shock as filaments of light start breaking through her. "I think you're leaving."

Aelita feels the pull of Lyoko once more and presses her lips to Jeremie's. _Ah, this is what I've wanted for a year._ The sweet kiss fills Aelita's mind as the bright light envelops her once again. Jeremie holds onto the sensation of her soft lips with a tenacious grip while the light forces his eyes closed. The scintillating brightness against his eyelids fades and he opens them to view an empty room.

_I feel love in your arms_

_And I feel love when I'm with you_

_I feel love in your eyes_

_Wherever you may be._

He gets off the bed and walks back to the computer. Her ecstatic face appears on the screen and their smiles share more than words ever could. "I promise you that you will be on earth once more. I love you with all my heart, Aelita. And I always will." Jeremie places his hand on the monitor and Aelita follows suit. This time the memory of their touch and kiss bypasses the monitor and strikes them in their hearts.

_(Wherever you are)_

_(I feel love)_

_Lalalalalalalalalalalalalala_

_(Wherever you are)_


End file.
